On Monday, November 23, 2020, the Michigan Board of Canvassers was Must-See TV. Not just for the Certification vote, but for the Public Comments I monitored for a few hours.
Over 800 people registered to speak for a minute and a half.
I don’t know what selection bias was behind this long list of Michiganders (that is the first time I have ever typed that word) making one strong personal statement after another about ethics and social justice and the meaning of life. I’m not kidding.
People are so worked up — a few of the Comments were scripted and restrained, but most were off-the cuff and passionate. Excellent Live TV.
You never knew what the next person would be like. I watched a boring old guy say how pleased he is the system worked, followed immediately by an angry Republican now ashamed to be from Michigan because of the massive fraud in its elections that the whole world knows about but no one does anything about it. Who was then replaced on-screen by a 19 year old Latino activist who said he got out the vote and it mattered and he was just getting warmed up.
Trump supporters were in the distinct minority but those that Commented had plenty of rage to share. I heard nothing I hadn’t heard a hundred times already but seeing it live in a 90 second package from a real person was surprisingly humanizing. Although I don’t believe their claims and I do believe their methods may have irreparably divided the country, I was reminded by the experience itself that these are people. Even when I don’t agree with them or even like them very much, I tend to find people compelling.
I would appreciate lots of channels like this all the time, where people can make a Public Comment on whatever the topic is. I’d watch a lot.
Then inevitably, when it becomes popular, companies would start gaming it somehow.